<![CDATA[East Aurora High School Music - Wind Ensemble Blog]]>Sat, 23 May 2026 09:30:23 -0500Weebly<![CDATA[The White Whale - Movement 5]]>Thu, 26 Mar 2020 15:35:07 GMThttp://www.d131music.org/wind-ensemble-blog/the-white-whale-movement-5Moby Dick seemed combinedly possessed by all the angels that fell from heaven. The birds! - the birds! They mark the spot ... The whale, the whale! Up helm, up helm! Oh, all ye sweet powers of air, now hug me close ... He turns to meet us ... My God, stand by me now!
We have reached the final movement of this fantastic piece. We are given a very descriptive quote for this movement - foreshadowing a great battle between Moby Dick and Ahab. 

https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/literature/moby-dick/moby-dick-whale-character

https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/m/mobydick/character-analysis/moby-dick

https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/mobydick/character/moby-dick/

How does this movement tell the story of the final battle?

Who wins at the end? It is the same as who wins in the book?

The music paints an incredible picture of this battle? What compositional techniques is McBeth using to enhance the danger/anger/movement/suspense?
Movement 5 starts at 12:20

Make sure you listen to the recording too! I have put it here to make it easier.
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]]><![CDATA[Ahab - Movement 4]]>Wed, 25 Mar 2020 11:37:52 GMThttp://www.d131music.org/wind-ensemble-blog/ahab-movement-4So powerfully did the whole grim aspect of Ahab affect me that for the first few moments I hardly noted the barbaric white leg upon which he partly stood.
The quote above is Ishmael's description of Ahab the first time he saw him. How is this description reflected in the music and what other aspects of Ahab appear in the music? How is this movement similar or different from what has come before? 

Remember that these 5 movements are all played one after another. What is the composer setting up? How is the composer telling the story?

https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/literature/moby-dick/captain-ahab

This is a video - If you go about a minute in, he starts talking about Ahab:
https://study.com/academy/lesson/captain-ahab-in-moby-dick-character-analysis-quotes-quiz.html

https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/m/mobydick/character-analysis/ahab

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Movement 4 starts at 10:15

Make sure you listen to the recording too! I have put it here to make it easier.
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]]><![CDATA[Father Mapple - Movement 3]]>Tue, 24 Mar 2020 10:15:39 GMThttp://www.d131music.org/wind-ensemble-blog/father-mapple-movement-3This ended, in prolonged solemn tones, like the continual tolling of a bell in a ship that is foundering at sea in a fog -- in such tones he commenced reading the following hymn; but changing his manner towards the concluding stanzas, burst forth with a pealing exultation and joy
Movement 3 is a unique movement in this piece. As you know, it is a singing movement. So in addition to figuring out how the movement connects to the character of Father Mapple, I would love your opinions on the following questions as well.

1) How does this movement represent the character of Father Mapple?

2) Are the lyrics to this movement from the book, from something else? What are the lyrics actually saying?

3) Is the melody an original melody or is it from something else?

4) Why do you think the composer wrote the 3rd movement for singing? 

Here are links to character descriptions of Father Mapple. He is not as big of a character as the other movements so far, meaning there isn't as much about him on these sites.

https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/literature/moby-dick/father-mapple

https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/m/mobydick/character-analysis/father-mapple

https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/mobydick/characters/
Movement 3 starts at 7:25

Make sure you listen to the recording too! I have put it here to make it easier.
]]><![CDATA[Queequeg - Movement II]]>Fri, 20 Mar 2020 15:40:12 GMThttp://www.d131music.org/wind-ensemble-blog/queequeg-movement-iiIt was quite plain that he must be abominable savage, but Queequeg was a creature in the transitory state - neither caterpillar nor butterfly.
Our next character is Queequeg. The quote from the book on him is very unusual. Take a moment to completely understand what is being said about him. Feel free to include your thoughts on the quote in your comment below. I have links to various character descriptions below.

Please remember, we are trying to make connections between the characteristics of Queequeg and the music that McBeth wrote. Please use musical language.

https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/literature/moby-dick/queequeg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queequeg

https://www.gradesaver.com/moby-dick/study-guide/character-list
Movement 2 starts at 4:55

​Make sure you listen to the recording too! I have put it here to make it easier.
]]><![CDATA[Of Sailors and Whales - Blog Project]]>Thu, 19 Mar 2020 14:25:37 GMThttp://www.d131music.org/wind-ensemble-blog/of-sailors-and-whales-blog-projectEach Movement of Of Sailors and Whales is a musical description of one of the main characters in the book Moby Dick. What I would like us to do is to learn about each character and then try to make connections between what we know about the character and what the composer, Francis McBeth, wrote in the piece. 

Ishmale - Movement 1
I go to sea as a simple sailor.​

Each movement has a quote from the character that McBeth writes under title. I have included that above. Below are a few links to character descriptions that I have found on the internet. Feel free to find your own, or maybe you have read the book. Add your thoughts in the comments section about how you think this movement is representative of the character Ishmale.

https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/mobydick/characters/

https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/literature/moby-dick/ishmael

​https://www.gradesaver.com/moby-dick/study-guide/character-list#ishmael

Also, use the recording I have posted on the "Rehearsal Recordings" page. You can also just search YouTube for other recordings you like. Let the discussion begin!
Movement 1 starts at 0:00


Make sure you listen to the recording. I have put it here to make it easier. 
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